She had a recurring role as Dr. Carol Blythe throughout the first season of Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) and co-starred with Stephen Collins, Bob Gunton, Mark Metcalf, and Tim Ransom in the 1991 mini-series A Woman Named Jackie, detailing the life of John F. Kennedy, played by Stephen Collins. She also appeared in the 1989 television movie The Heist, with Noble Willingham, and the 1990 television movie Donor, with Marc Lawrence and Larry Cedar.

Hughes passed away following a battle with cancer at the age of 61 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Fellow actor Bryan Brown announced her death to the audience of the play "Travelling North" on Saturday afternoon, 8 March 2014. [1]